Southern plantation museums erase enslaved residents even in their own decor.

Evidence

The key images presented are of homes and furniture and splendor. When guides mention humans, whites are described in (extensive) details; blacks are passed over in a perfunctory manner, except perhaps in the case of “faithful old servants” about whom cursory details are provided, and the enslaved person is deployed to highlight the generosity and magnanimity of the master-enslaver. Thus, we are told, Alexander Stephen’s bondspersons said that “if they had to be slaves they wouldn’t want to be anywhere else than with Mr. Stephens.” Or, where enslaved persons were allowed to stay on a plantation after the Civil War, they were welcomed with open-handed, openhearted warmth. It is the impressive Southern hospitality which accompanies the impressive structures. — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 1896 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Plantation museums marginalize slavery not by denial but by omission.; Plantation museums center objects and erase enslaved people from their narratives. — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 1896; Plantation museum tours lavish detail on owners while erasing enslaved people — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 1893 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Plantation museums center objects and erase enslaved people from their narratives. #corroborates (0.95) — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 1896